Huckleberry Hunt, homeschooled from birth,
was 13 years old when he wrote "The Kids In Business" column for
Homefires. He interviewed homeschoolers who either had their own businesses
or worked in their family's business.

Kids in Business: Creating an Imaginative Toy Tree House

By Huckleberry Hunt

This interview is with George Lockwood who with the help of his sons,
Galen and Cameron, and wife, Juliana, designs, makes and sells toy tree
houses.

H: George, can you tell us what type of business you have
and how it was started?

G: I design and make wooden toys for families. The name of
my business is Lockwood Toys. I primarily produce a wooden tree house and
accessories. Our business is the result of playing frequently with my two sons,
Cameron, age 12 and Galen, age 7. We create fantasy games of adventure and
exploration -- which led to making a toy tree house for our play. Friends would
visit and comment on how great the tree house was, and suggested I make more
to sell. I hadn't seen a tree house commercially available -- so I thought
a potential market existed.

The initial idea was to make several as a home-schooling project. The boys
would learn about carpentry skills, sales techniques, and money. Like all
homeschooling projects, I would learn right along with them. Cameron and I
took 7 tree houses to a Waldorf craft fair in San Francisco. We quickly sold
them and had orders for 2 more. I like to say this was a homeschooling project
that got out of control and became a business.

H: Did you continue to make them by hand and sell them
at craft fairs?

G: Actually, I hand-made another 80, and began selling
through retail stores. The Play Store in Palo Alto has carried them for 4
years. Now they are available in stores in Carmel, San Francisco, Santa Barbara
and Honolulu. Sales were going well, but I couldn't keep up with the demand,
so I looked into more efficient methods of manufacturing. I contacted suppliers
to make different parts. One company cuts and drills all plywood pieces, another
makes all the dowels. Other parts are handcrafted. I also arranged a central
assembly location and hired help. Last year I manufactured 150 tree houses.

H: Do the boys continue to help even though you hire other
people to assemble a portion of the tree house?

G: Yes. They still help with some hand-assembly and packaging.

H: How much does a store charge for a tree house?

G: Since I sell to them wholesale, stores control the retail
price. I do know the Play Store in Palo Alto sells them assembled for $290.00
dollars, and less for the non-assembled (assembly instructions are included).

H: What do you think people find so appealing about your tree
houses?

G: A tree house is something familiar, but uncommon. Seeing a
tree house seems to evoke lots of imaginative play. For adults and older kids it
may call to mind the Swiss Family Robinson story. We are excited about being on an
island and having to create our own little world. For others it seems to evoke
images of elves and fairies living in the upper part of the tree, with gnomes and
trolls living below. Struggles and battles can go on between the two groups the
play is only limited by your imagination.

H: Can you describe your design, accessories that are available,
and how they contribute to play?

G: The tree house is about 4 feet tall, with a branch through
the center of three levels. It is topped with a leafy green canopy. The multiple
levels include: the underground; an intermediate level that has a little stoop
part way up with ladders; and then the platform level up above. It comes with two
sets of pulleys and winches for hoisting little wooden buckets (included) or other
objects. Additional accessories for purchase include: a tram car; another pulley
system to take buckets to other parts of the play area; a rope bridge that can be
attached to the tree house; and rock walls that expand the design.

H: What age group are you targeting?

G: There are some potential choking & strangulation hazards
for children under three. So it is for ages 3-13.

H: Do you have plans for expansion?

G: I plan to continue the business as long as it remains fun
and works for the family. At this time, I am interested in expansion to other stores
throughout the country and Europe. There are some other toy ideas that I might
consider producing as well. My brother lives in Seattle and has made wooden toys for
his son. By profession he is a cabinetmaker. He made a pirate ship for Galen that has
provided great play alone -- and also between the ship and the tree house, and all the
occupants. Lots of adventures, battles and explorations. So I have envisioned my brother
and I working together with our sons, making an expanded toy world using the tree house,
boats, rafts and castles.

H: How do you expand further geographically?

G: I plan to attend an international toy fair in New York to
display the tree house. Retail store owners there, view products for possible
merchandise in their stores. Another idea for expansion is to sell directly to
the public through catalogs or via the Internet.

H: It has taken you a number of years to develop your business
to its present size, why is that?

G: It has been a long evolution, but I have worked steadily on
its development. I have a full time practice as a clinical psychologist, so I had
to work part time to develop Lockwood Toys. The slower pace has allowed for feed
back from families as they played with the tree house that contributed to ideas for
its design.

H: Your products are wonderful. Have you always worked with wood?

G: I was raised in a family where we learned some wood working
skills. As an adult I did a little bit, but had not invested in the tools that are
required. My brother, the cabinetmaker, encouraged me to develop some of my toy
ideas. Additionally, I wanted to create a wooden toy that had appeal to both children
and adults -- a toy that would encourage family play and trigger imaginative play.
There are a lot of toys that separate parents and their children. Toys that are
plastic with bright primary colors are exciting to kids, but may be a turn-off to
parents. Toys that are made of things from nature have a tendency to appeal to both
parents and kids. This can draw them together for play. It was important to me to
expose my children to toys that are aesthetically appealing. Toys made of wood have
innate beauty and stimulate creative play, while allowing us to be less alienated from
nature.